Over the course of the year, we have watched the toddler room transform before our eyes. The children came to us on their individual journeys of separation and they are now finding themselves within the collective.
With this shift comes many questions, questions that may continue to deepen into adulthood:
What does it mean to have friends?
What does it mean to be in a group?
What happens if your friend wants you to do something you don’t want to do? What happens if you want them to join you, but they aren’t interested?
What if your ideas are lost in translation?
How do you balance your individual needs with the needs of the community? You may not want to clean up, but if you don’t it will get in the way of others.
How do you show up for a friend when they are sad? What if you accidentally made them sad?
There are many ways these can kids show up for their community, even as two year olds.
They can line up so that the class can transition to the next activity
They can listen to each other share about their special people
They can work side by side, sharing space and perhaps even tools or ideas
They can follow each other’s lead in games
They can sit together and have snack, calmly, and wait patiently for their food
They can clean up their materials and put away their dirty dishes
They can play chase
And they can share their affection
Just by showing up, each one of these kids is contributing to their community – the collective “we,” even in a stage of development that is so focused on the “me.” And every time they follow our guidelines and listen to our boundaries, they are further contributing to their community and learning what it is to be responsible. We are so fortunate to see the ways in which they have embraced each other and taken on this responsibility. And we can tell that they care for each other, otherwise they wouldn’t remind us who is missing any time a kid isn’t at school.
Thank you all for contributing to our community!
